madam president in the past few years zimbabwe has figured so often in these debates that we could be forgiven for running out of condemnatory words to say but we must speak up because the long-suffering people of zimbabwe have themselves been denied a voice by this ruthless despot robert mugabe
he has forfeited all rights to claim democratic legitimacy because of his wanton disregard for human rights political freedoms and the rule of law
the recent shooting of perence shiri one of mugabe's henchmen hints at the anger bubbling under zimbabwe's surface
shiri has the blood of twenty zero people on his hands
it was shiri who with assistance from communist north korea systematically massacred innocent civilians in the early nineteen eighties in matabeleland
if that was not bad enough mugabe's neglect has now caused an epidemic of cholera a disease that had been almost totally eradicated throughout zimbabwe until recently
in response to international concerns mugabe says outrageously that the outbreak amounts to genocide perpetrated by britain my country the former colonial master
it is perhaps this groundless accusation of neo-colonialism combined with our own post-colonial guilt that prevents us in europe from taking more robust action
yet when we look to africa to provide a solution we find an ocean of indifference and ineffectiveness
the strident condemnation of mugabe by the prime minister of kenya and the president of botswana stands out in stark contrast to the apathy of most other african states and leaders and in particular south africa although we must now hope that a president zuma takes a tougher approach
if the african union aspires to anything like the authority of the european union it needs to address mugabe's reign of terror and consider the possibility of action to force mugabe from office
one concrete measure we should encourage is the indictment of mugabe in the international criminal court through a un security council resolution as has proven useful in the case of president al-bashir over darfur
i hope the next time i speak on zimbabwe it will be to hail mugabe's demise and departure from office
